〜の字 ( = 〜no ji) (Mini Lesson)

「彼には女心の「お」の字もわからないんだわ…」

= Kare niwa onnagokoro no “o” no ji mo wakaranai dawa.

= He has no clue of girl’s feelings.

I just received a question from takky.

What does “色気の「イ」の字のない” mean?

It’s a good question, so I’ll take this opportunity to  make a mini-lesson.

•色気 = iroke　= sexiness, sexual charm

•字 = ji = a letter

So the literal translation is

to not to have even a letter of “イ” or ”い” ( = i) of  “色気” （ = iroke)

It means “not to have any sexual charm at all” , ” far from being sexy”

Ex. 彼女は、色気の「い」の字もない。

= Kanojo wa iroke no “i” no ji mo nai.

= She is not sexy at all.

We take the first letter (either hiragana, katakana or one kanji) of a word

•＊＊＊の「＊」の字もない=＊＊＊ no “＊” no ji mo nai　

→* there isn’t ~ at all, * not to have ~ at all

•＊＊＊の「＊」の字も知らない =＊＊＊no “＊“ no ji mo shiranai

→* not to know ~ at all, * not to know the first thing about ~

•＊＊＊の「＊」の字もわからない = ＊＊＊ no “＊” no ji mo wakaranai

→* not to understand ~ at all, not to know the first thing about ~

From the picture above :

「彼には女心の「お」の字もわからないんだわ…」

= Kare niwa onnagokoro no “o” no ji mo wakaranain dawa.

= He has no clue as to a girl’s feelings.

女心 = onna gokoro = woman’s feeling, girl’s feeling

These examples should help you understand this a bit better. :h:

:u:

Ex. 私はコンピューターの「コ」の字も知らない。

= Watashi wa konpyuutaa no “ko” no ji mo shiranai.

= I don’t know anything about computers.

Ex. 英語の「え」の字も知らない子供に英語を教えるのは大変だ。

= Eigo no “e” no ji mo shiranai kodomo ni eigo wo oshieru nowa taihen da.

= It is hard to teach children who don’t know any English at all.

Ex.この国ではどこに行っても日本語の「に」の字もない。

= Kono kuni dewa doko ni itte mo nihongo no “ni” no ji mo nai.

= There is absolutely no Japanese to be seen or heard in this country.

Ex. ワインの「ワ」の字も知らない人にこの高級ワインを出すのはもったいない。

= Wain no “wa” no ji mo shiranai hito ni kono koukyuu wain wo dasu nowa mottai nai.

= It is a waste to serve this expensive wine to someone who doesn’t know wine at all.

Ex.  この子は苦労の「苦」の字も知らずに育った。

= Kono ko wa kurou no “ku” no ji mo shirazu ni sodatta.

= This boy (or girl) has been raised without any hardship.

Ex. 彼には愛情の「あ」の字もない。

= Kare niwa aijyou no “a” no ji mo nai.

= He has no love in him at all.

Ex. この手術には不安の「ふ」の字もありません。

= Kono shujutsu niwa fuan no “fu” no ji mo arimasen.

= There is no need to worry about the operation at all.

Ex. この店にはサービスの「サ」の字もない。

=  Kono mise ni wa saabisu no “sa” no ji mo nai.

= The service of this store (restaurant, bar) is really bad.

Ex. この作品にはユーモアの「ユ」の字もない。

= Kono sakuhin niwa yuumoa no  “yu” no ji mo nai.

= The work doesn’t have any humor.

マギー先生より = Maggie Sensei yori = From Maggie Sensei

誰？私には女らしさの「お」の字もないと言ったのは！

= Dare? Watashi niwa onnarashisa no “o” no ji mo nai to itta nowa!

=Who said I am not feminine at all!